The present invention relates to an emergency locator signal light system, installed for example at a residence, of the general type which is activated by the dialing of an emergency telephone number, such as "911" in the United States.
Centralized emergency response systems are implemented in most communities, with emergency operators or telecommunicators at a central telecommunications center reached by placing a telephone call to a predetermined emergency telephone number, typically having a limited number of digits for convenient dialing. For example, in the United States, a standardized emergency telephone number is "911." Examples for other countries are "111" in New Zealand, "999" in England, and "112" in Germany.
The caller describes the nature of the emergency to the emergency telecommunicator who then either relays the call to an appropriate response center (for example an ambulance service, fire department or police department), or otherwise dispatches emergency help.
In the case of older centralized emergency response systems, it is necessary for the caller to provide an address and instructions to the emergency telecommunicator. Since this takes extra time, and since every minute counts when responding to an emergency, enhanced centralized emergency response systems (e.g. Enhanced 911) have more recently been developed. In an enhanced system, equipment used by the emergency operator or telecommunicator includes a display system, such as a computer screen, which automatically displays the address from which the emergency (e.g. "911") telephone call was placed, as well as other pertinent information. Not only does an enhanced system save time, but it is not strictly necessary for the caller to say anything. In certain dire emergencies nothing is said, but help is nevertheless dispatched on the assumption there is an emergency.
Under optimum conditions, particularly with "Enhanced 911", the address on the screen is correct, the weather is clear, and the street signs and house numbers are clearly marked. Emergency personnel are thus able to proceed efficiently to a given house or other location directly and without delay. Nevertheless, emergency personnel frequently experience difficulties in locating homes and businesses quickly and efficiently in an emergency, due to the nature and variety of homes and their locations.
Even when no particular difficulties arise, a certain amount of time is inherently lost. Thus normally an emergency vehicle driver heads in the direction from which an emergency call originated. When the emergency vehicle arrives in the general area of the call, the driver slows down and begins looking for the correct house number. This is somewhat more time consuming than proceeding directly to an emergency location, and may amount to losing seconds and sometimes minutes, simply because of the need to slow down to begin looking for the correct number.
In some cases, particularly in medical emergency calls when an ambulance has been dispatched, a person is often at the edge of the street waving down the ambulance. Unfortunately, this person is often the only other person at the scene of the call. Standing outside waiting for help to arrive means the person cannot be inside giving help or comfort to whoever is having the medical emergency.
One general prior art approach to these problems is to provide a flashing light system which can be activated by a person inside the house. Examples of various such systems are disclosed in U.S. patents to Browand U.S. Pat. No. 4,003,040; Jones U.S. Pat. No. 4,547,761; Davis U.S. Pat. No. 4,611,265; Vanderburg U.S. Pat. No. 4,686,505; Miller U.S. Pat. No. 4,839,630; and Fritz et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,855,723. Another known system causes a front porch light to blink if the switch for the light is flipped twice. Some of these systems, such as the system of Browand U.S. Pat. No. 4,003,040, allow a person inside the house to selectively activate several different light signalling modes, for example as a continuous white light, a flashing white light, and a flashing red light, to indicate various specific situations.
Such systems are, however, at best inadequate and, at worst, provide a false sense of security for persons in the home. For example, if a person needing help is home alone, and it requires all of the person's energy to call an emergency telephone number such as "911", requiring the person also to flip a switch may result in a call not being placed at all to the emergency telecommunications center.
Accordingly, other systems have been developed which automatically detect the dialing of a predetermined telephone number, such as "911", to initiate a flashing light or other light signal on the exterior of the house or other building. Thus, there is no need for a person to specifically activate the light signal. Examples of such systems are disclosed in the U.S. patents to Ray et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,878,236; LaMont et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,931,780; Robinson et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,935,951; McMinn et al U.S. Pat. No. 4,993,058; and Leighton et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,012,507.
One of the drawbacks of such systems is that there is no way to differentiate based on the nature of the emergency call. By way of example, in the case of a medical emergency, it would generally be useful for neighbors or passersby to be alerted and made aware of the situation, so that assistance might be rendered while waiting for an ambulance. On the other hand, in the case of a police emergency, such as where there is an intruder in the house, neighbors should be warned to exercise caution, or stay away. A distinguishable police emergency signal also could prevent children from coming home from school, or from a friend's house, and walking in on a dangerous situation. As another example, in the case of a fire emergency, it may be useful to alert persons outside the house regarding the general nature of the emergency so that appropriate action might be taken.